March 28, 2012 : In US Cities, Occupy Goes Beyond Media Sound Bites

DowntownExpress.com
features Zach Williams, who joined OWS in October, chronicling the
movement's development and growth, even as the winter months saw a
diminished street presence.

Across the United States, Occupy
activity is taking place on a daily basis. With that, we get right to
our “tour of the cities” :

Occupy Tallahassee has new digs,
the “Johns site” which is a city block bordered by 4 streets. The
Occupiers have entered into an agreement with the city to use the
site, which already features some 12 tents belonging to “core group
members.” A makeshift kitchen and hangout areas using tarps, scrap
materials and even an old trampoline frame has been set-up. For the
now, the Deputy City Attorney says it's a “temporary arrangement.”
Amazing how easily some cities solve their “Occupy problem.”
Tallahassee.com

Occupy SF is
reeling froma second
stabbing in as many days in front of the Fed where the protesters
have been. Mayor Ed Lee says the violence will have no effect on the
city's stance, and the protesters have a right to be there so long as
they do not have tents. San
Jose Mercury News

US Judge Mark Kravitz will hear
testimony from both sides over the fate of Occupy New Haven. Kravitz
has extended the Occupiers deadline to vacate the town green by 10
days as lawyers prepare “oral testimony.” Yale
Daily News

The
Cedar Falls City Council is prepared if Occupy tried to return this
Spring, having passed an ordinance mandating they seek a permit for
overnight camping from the town. UWS
Digital News
doesn't like their chances.Cedar
Falls Patch

Blogger Pam Bickell features an
interview with one of Occupy Tuscon's organizers and tries to get
beyond the mainstream media's “story of the moment” conceptions
of Occupy. OT organizer Joe Callahan says “The economic injustice
that we fight against is complex and far-reaching, and the media are
ill-equipped to offer the analysis and in-depth review that would
help the public understand why we are willing to protest.”
tusconcitizen.com

Occupy
Burlington may soon“Occubama” : like
many cities the occupiers are grappling with how to maintain a public
presence and image after being given the boot by authorities. Four
months after a shooting death that took place in the encmapment, the
group was unable to reach consensus on the matter, leading some of
the frustrated younger folk to storm off. Consensus
can be messy. However,
the group seemed to reach consensus on a protest planned for the
Prez' upcoming Burlington fund-raising bash, currently scheduled for
March 30. 7dvt.com

Occupy Art
continues to make news as occupy artists celebrate their
contributions to the movement.Harvard
Crimsondetails last
night's get together over an open bar and Thai Food at the Carpenter
Center's BYO Series.

Politicos
and pundits want to pin down occupy for sound bites and
sensationalist stories, but each each city's occupiers want to
discuss first, then pick their own issues to focus on. As such,
groups like OSLO (Occupy San Luis Obispo) make decisions to hold
women's rights seminar, which will feature a teach-in about
empowerment, the
history of womens' rights, dealing
with street harassment, and possibly a self-defense course (see
above). The group will also make its regular Thursday“silent
street march” to illuminate their concerns about homelessness in
the city. Sanluisobispo.com

Finally,
Christian
Science Monitor is up and arms this morning about occupiers
protesting the Targets, Wal-Marts and Amazons of the world,
primarily, they say, because these companies satisfy consumers and
create jobs.The monitor opinion piece is penned by “positive
marketing” profs Dawn Lerman and Luke Kachersky. It's not our task
here to weigh in with opinions, but UWS Digital News wonders if the
profs have been checking media coverage of the
Amazon sweatshops , in particular Mac McLelland's Mother Jones
Expose : “I
Was a Warehouse Wage Slave.”